#the closest shes ever come to being the real villain of a story is batgirl issue 64

[roseworth]

Thoughts on Allwinter finale?

well first before i say anything: lili mention!!!!!!!!

i always love lili acknowledgement and shes even supposedly ALIVE here which is exciting. but i also have an issue with that and ill circle back to that in a sec

anyways. i think this book fell into the trap that all the most boring deathstroke stories do, which is that they made slade too good. hes framed as the hero who can be blamed for SOME of the issues, but the Real Bad Guy is someone else, making his family seem irrational for blaming slade for the problems instead of the actual villain. in this story vandal was the evil king and viktor was the person causing all the problems. the issues happened because of slade but he wasnt the one doing it. as ive said many times before, the most interesting thing about deathstroke is that he is a bad person and he knows hes a bad person and everyone around him knows hes a bad person. this story made him more like a misunderstood hero than an actual guy who sucks

and i mean. its an elseworld so i cant complain too much about mischaracterization, and the whole point of the story was that it was leading up to a happy family reunion. and happily family reunion means slade cant be TOO in the wrong and he has to be the hero in the end. so he killed one guy many years ago and thats the extent of what he did "wrong" and. idk. thats just kinda boring to me bc i come to deathstroke comics for messy drama and horrible people so its disappointing to see a story like this where all issues can be fixed in the end so they can all group hug.

but going back to rose specifically.. it pains me to say this but i think the fact that rose was there hurt the story. in terms of the story it was telling it wouldve been better if they just hadnt included her at all. she served basically no narrative purpose, they could've just as easily only had silver banshee as the hired hitman that was kidnapping alec instead of including rose, and the backstory wouldve been a lot cleaner since now we have rose who came from ? somewhere. they dont talk about who rose's mother is except for the fact that its not adeline, though timeline-wise slade and adeline were still supposed to be happily together in this universe when rose was conceived. and now rose hates slade for unspecified reasons that she can easily get over in the end, making her even more flat as a character. not to mention lili is alive according to the last issue, but for some reason wintergreen was the one to raise rose ? and at some point despite rose having been raised by wintergreen and her mother, she decides to become a mercenary so what was the point of wintergreen raising her in the first place. it just seems very odd to me and as happy as i was to see her it seems like the narrative was worse because they included her. though my main problems mostly come from the fact that i was reading the book with rose goggles and i didnt care about anything but her, so the fact that her character wasnt very fleshed out bothered me a lot since she was the whole reason i opened the book at all

but all that being said. if i take the story at face value i thought it was good! its a sweet lil thing if youre not going into it thinking of it as a deathstroke book, and i thought the universe & the conflict was interesting. and if i dont think too hard about rose's inclusion it was pretty well written! nothing spectacular but i thought it was a nice n simple story. its not a great rose book but its a fine book in general i think

[lucemferto]

Niki Nihachu & Barbara Kean

Gonna drop something controversial real quick.

Niki Nihachu is the most tragic character on the Dream SMP – and I don’t mean in the sense of her having a tragic story (though she is up there), but in the sense that she is tragically mishandled.

I want to start out by saying that this essay is by no means an attack on the content creator Niki Nihachu or her abilities as a performer. She is frequently one of the strongest actors on the SMP and I have no idea how much of her character writing was within her power. How much of it was improv, how much pre-planned, how much something she genuinely wanted to do and how much stuff she just stumbled into or – in the worst-case scenario – was forced upon her. I don’t know.

The Dream SMP is not very transparent when it comes to their creative process. As such I can only judge it as a discerning viewer and English major dropout, who retained some half-remembered stuff about narratology.

So, a few weeks ago, I tumbled on here that Niki’s character journey reminded me a lot of the character Barbara Kean from the hit TV-show Gotham. Then I got an ask asking me to elaborate. This is the elaboration.

Barbara Kean

So, a quick crash course for people who haven’t seen Gotham (the greatest comic book show on Television, seriously, what are you doing with your life?!): Barbara Kean was a major female character throughout all five seasons of Gotham – and not once during those five seasons did the writers ever figure out what they wanted to do with her.

Every 10-12 episodes or so, Barbara’s role shifted completely. She started out as cop-protagonist Jim Gordon’s girlfriend at home and moral compass, then became part of a bisexual love triangle, then a hard-drinking jealous party girl with a backstory as repressed, lonely rich kid, before being kidnapped by a serial killer and ultimately making her perfect metamorphosis into the psychotic ex-girlfriend trope.

And that was Season 1.

Since then, she became the pseudo-Harley Quinn to the pseudo-Joker, a whip-wielding dominatrix, the obligatory female member in a supervillain squad, some sort of information broker, a mafia kingpin, the leader of a girl-power posse and – my favourite – the reincarnated wife of an ancient immortal who also controls all of Gotham and transferred that control over to her before that plot-point was dropped harder than a half-dead Oswald Cobblepot of the Gotham piers.

Also, she’s Batgirl’s mom.

In short, it’s a mess – but that’s what makes Gotham kinda fun.

Character Cohesion

Now, obviously, Niki’s character journey has not been quite as extreme. But it falls into the same traps, I find. Namely, that there’s just a distinct lack of character cohesion or character continuity.

Now, character cohesion or character continuity doesn’t mean that the arcs these characters undertake can’t be explained in a logical way. Barbara’s character journey is logical in the sense that you can explain it all with in-universe logic – but it’s not logical from a narratological sense now, is it?

Character Cohesion basically means that a character’s journey is reflected in their personal conflict – their Want vs. Need. Their arc is the natural continuation of what was set-up in previous sequences. Everything falls into a whole with Set-up, Confrontation, Resolution – we set up the character’s Want, their Want and Need are conflicting, the Want vs. Need is resolved. Ideally this coincides with the plot beats of the large conflict surrounding the cast.

When you look at Barbara in Season 1 of Gotham, you’re not thinking “This one right here – she’s the reincarnated wife of Ra’s Al Ghul”. Because why would you? There was no set-up; it’s not part of what her character was about in this moment – or any moment before that concept was introduced. It’s not needed for her character conflict (or any thematic conflicts for that matter).

It’s quite transparently just something that is affixed to her so that she has something until the writers come up with the next at which that first thing will dropped, underdeveloped.

Niki in Season 1

Niki follows the same route, unfortunately. She’s set-up as the resistance in L’Manburg, allies herself with Eret and HBomb until – oops – it doesn’t end mattering, because that entire side of the “plot” is completely underdeveloped. Just be a damsel until Wilbur can swoop in and save you, Niki.

Okay, but now she has a big moment with Tommy and Tubbo just after the pit-scene. “We’ll figure something out”, she says. “We need L’Manburg back”. This is all before the backdrop of Wilbur completely giving in to his role as a villain and Techno’s apparent “betrayal”.

So, now, surely, Niki is gonna affect change in Pogtopia and will have some influence on either Tommy or Wilbur, the two people she’s closest to. What’s this? Her biggest contribution is holding a birthday party where Quackity convinces Wilbur to hold off on his TNT-plan? And after that … she’s just gonna be part of the Pogtopia-masses?

Now, I like Wilbur’s writing and Season 1 generally, but when it comes to Niki (and Eret) something went terribly wrong. Both of them provided many a set-up – none of which were taken advantage of, unfortunately.

And, just to be clear, I’m not putting the blame on Niki here (or at least not most of it). Season 1 was pretty firmly in Wilbur’s hand … and Season 2 was a train wreck.

Niki in Season 2

Niki is – for the most part of Season 2 – a nothing character. She has no real conflict, no character beats, no arc. This is because through some unfortunate writing decisions, Season 2 is pretty squarely focused on a specific set of characters – and even fewer of those characters are granted a fully explored, completed character arc.

It all culminates in her Doomsday villain arc – a moment that can be logically explained from both an in-character perspective and a meta-perspective, but unfortunately, it’s not justified from a technical writing point of view.

Niki burning down the L’Mantree is her “Ra’s Al Ghul’s reincarnated wife”-moment. It’s a big statement that put her character on the map for a large part of the audience again. It was a striking visual. It could not be ignored.

Most of that was because it was a stark departure from her characterization in Season 1. Now, such a departure doesn’t necessarily have to be bad. The problem comes in when

a.) The full potential of the character in their previous narrative role had not yet been fully or even partly exhausted

b.) It cuts into an on-going character arc and drastically changes its course

c.) It’s not foreshadowed or developed properly.

And most of those are true for Niki’s character. She was not necessarily underdeveloped but underexplored in Season 1 and had no consistent storyline going on in Season 2. She was a witness to Tommy’s trial, but that was never worked into an on-going storyline for her. No matter how much we retroactively pretend like this turn to villainy, this breakdown, was brewing deep inside of her – there was no foreshadowing.

The reason, why I said it’s understandable from a meta-perspective, is that the content creator Niki Nihachu had a self-admittedly hard time getting her foot in in Season 2 – because Season 2, for as much love as I will heap upon Tommy’s and Dream’s storyline, was a pretty messy.

So, the villain arc was not well foreshadowed and Niki’s turn was developed, but what happened after she was in it?

Niki in Season 3

Well, unfortunately that problem of an inconsistent storyline never really went away for her. In the beginning of Season 3, she hatched her wagons with Jack Manifold, which was a pretty big tonal shift – from darkly tragic to cartoonish villainy.

But as Jack kept developing his character in that lane and following up on big plot development with corresponding character moments, Niki again just … vanished. She then changed gears again, joining the Syndicate – a great idea if only the Syndicate actually streamed together and developed a storyline and group cohesion.

As it stands right now, Niki’s character exists in the negative space of the fandom imaginations. We are given some scraps and good character moments – her sleeping in a jail cell, “I started baking again”, her secret city – but those moments never coalesce into a full-fledged storyline.

Her character’s journey is still as fragmented and underexplored as it ever was. I really hope that – with Wilbur’s revival and the new character conflict that seems to arise from that for her – she manages to finally get the foot in and get the storyline and dynamic arc she deserves.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #467

Top Ten Romantic Couples in Superhero Movies (& TV)

It’s Valentine’s Day this weekend. Woo, I guess? I dunno. I’m not generally cynical about holidays but Valentine’s Day does seem to be entirely focused on selling cards without any of the associated pleasantries of, say, Christmas or Halloween. I’d rather just try to be nice to my wife all year round. At least because of the apocalypse all the restaurants are closed so we can’t be tempted to pay through the nose for a set menu. Anyway, it gives me a strained excuse to tie this week’s Top Ten to something vaguely romantic.

Superheroes are often horny. This seems to be a defining characteristic of the artform. Whether it’s their descent from ancient myths, or their creators’ origins in writing romance books, or just a function of genre storytelling in the mid-twentieth century, there’s quite a lot of romantic angst in superhero stories. Pretty much every superhero has a significant other; Lois Lane even got her own comic that was actually called Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane. It’s hard to conceive of many heroes without their primary squeeze, and often – as we get multiple media adaptations of characters – we can add diversity or a twist to the proceedings by picking a lesser-known love interest, or one from earlier in the character’s fictional history; for instance, Smallville beginning with Cark Kent’s teenage crush Lana Lang, or The Amazing Spider-Man swapping out Mary Jane Watson for Gwen Stacey.

Anyway, I’m talking this week about my favourite superhero couples. I’ve decided to focus on superhero adaptations – that is, the characters from movies and films based on superhero comics or characters. I find this a little bit easier as I don’t have a phenomenal knowledge of sixty years of Avengers comics, but I have seen all the movies a bunch. As many comics as I’ve read, and as much as I love various ink-and-paper pairings, I can arguably talk more authoritatively about the fillums than the funny books. And let’s be real here, kids: my favourite comic book romantic couple is Chromedome and Rewind in Transformers. Also if I split them in two I can talk about comic couples next year. Woohoo!

It really is hard thinking of these things nearly nine years in, folks.

So! Here, then, are my favourite movie-TV Couples in Capes. Obviously there’s a fair bit of MCU in here. And I’ve been pretty specific about “superhero” romances: so no Hellboy and Liz Sherman, sadly (and I do really like them in the movies, of which they really need to make a third). Some are civvies-and-supes; some are capes-and-capes. You’ll work it out.

Superman & Lois Lane (Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder, Superman, 1978): who else? The most famous romance in all of comics, a combo so strong it remains the focus of pretty much every interpretation of the character, but arguably never better than here; so good are Reeve and Kidder that their fast-talking banter and inherent goodness set the template for a huge swathe of other comic adaptations to follow. She’s sarky and streetwise; he’s gormless and good-hearted. She leaps in where angels fear to tread, he’s an invulnerable alien in disguise. They have buckets of chemistry and an utterly believable (tentative) romance. They’re perfect performances and the scenes of Clark in Metropolis for the first time (including Superman’s balcony interview with Lois) are the best bits of an already excellent film.

Raven & Beast Boy (Tara Strong & Greg Cipes, Teen Titans Go!, 2014): on a totally different register, we have the comedy stylings of the Teen Titans. Raven and Beast Boy had a flirtatious relationship on the original Titans series, but on this longer-running and much more demented comedy follow-up, they were allowed to make the romance more official (I nearly said “explicit” but, y’know… it’s not that). The jokes and banter – BB the love-struck, jealous suitor, Raven the too-cool partner who feigns nonchalance – build and build, but every now and again they’re allowed a moment of genuine heartfelt romance, and it hits all the more strongly amidst the ultra-violence and outrageous comedy.

Captain America & Agent Carter (Chris Evans & Hayley Atwell, Captain America: The First Avenger, 2011): the premier couple of the MCU, Steve and Peggy spend a whole movie flirting (she sees the goodness of him even before he gets all hench) before finally arranging a date that, we all know, is very much postponed. Peggy casts a shadow over the rejuvenated Cap and the MCU as a whole, founding SHIELD, inspiring dozens of heroes, and counselling Steve to her dying days. She remains Steven’s true north (like Supes with Lois, Peggy’s an ordinary human who is the actual hero of an actual super-powered hero), guiding him through the chaos and tragedy of Endgame, until they both get to live happily ever after. Even though he snogged her niece.

Batman & Catwoman (Michael Keaton & Michelle Pfeiffer, Batman Returns, 1992): Pfeiffer delivers a barnstorming performance as Selina Kyle, all barely-supressed mania and seductive feline charm. The chemistry between her and Keaton is electric, and propels the film forward even when the Penguin-runs-for-mayor stuff gets a bit daft and icky. There are beautiful moments of romantic comedy when they’re both trying to cover up injuries they gave each other, and of course there’s “mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it” – a line that runs a close second to “dance with the devil” when it comes to Burton-Batman quotations (just ahead of “never rub another man’s rhubarb”). Burton, generally favouring the macabre villains over the straighter edges of the heroic Batman, nevertheless makes great play of the duality of the character, and how this is something he and Catwoman can share – both “split right down the centre” – but also how this means a happy ending for either of them is impossible.

Spider-Man & Mary Jane (Tobey Maguire & Kirsten Dunst, Spider-Man, 2002): whilst a lot of this is really down to the sexiness of them kissing upside-down in the rain, there’s a nice duality to Peter and MJ seeing through each other too: he sees the wounded humane soul beneath her it-girl persona; she sees the kind, caring man underneath his geek baggage. This arc plays out beautifully across the first two films (ending in that wonderfully accepting “Go get ‘em, tiger”) before sadly getting all murky and unsatisfying in the murky and unsatisfying third film. Still: that kiss.

Wonder Woman & Steve Trevor (Gal Gadot & Chris Pine, Wonder Woman, 2017): probably the film that hews closest to the Clark-Lois dynamic of the original Superman, to the point where it includes an homage to the alleyway-mugging scene as Diana deflects a bullet. Steve is Diana’s window into man’s world, showing her the horror of the First World War but managing to also be a sympathetic ally and never talking down or mansplaining anything. He’s a hero in his own right – very similar to another wartime Steve on this list – and very much an ideal match to the demigod he’s showing round Europe. And, of course, Gadot’s Diana is incredible, both niaive and vulnerable whilst also an absolute badass. There is an enduring warm chemistry to the pair, with a relationship which we actually see consummated – relatively rare for superheroes! The inevitability of his heroic sacrifice does nothing to lessen the tragedy, and no I’ve not seen Wonder Woman 1984 yet.

Hawkeye & Laura Barton (Jeremy Renner & Linda Cardellini, Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015): I love these guys! I love that Hawkeye has a relatively normal, stable family life. He has a big old farmhouse that he wants to remodel, he’s got two kids and a third on the way… he’s got something to live for, something to lose. It humanises him amidst the literal and figurative gods of the Avengers. And they’re cute together, bickering and bantering, and of course she is supportive of his Avenging. I hope we get to see more of Laura and the kids in the Hawkeye series, and I hope nothing bad happens to them now they’ve all been brought back to life.

Wanda Maximoff & Vision (Elizabeth Olsen & Paul Bettany, Avengers: Infinity War, 2018): theirs is a difficult relationship to parse, because they’re together so briefly. They cook paprikash together in Civil War before having a bit of a bust-up, and by Infinity War they’re an official couple, albeit on the run (and on different sides). That movie does a great job in establishing their feelings for each other in very little screentime, with their heroic characteristics on full display, before the shockingly awful tragedy of Wanda killing Vision to save the galaxy, before Thanos rewinds time, brings him back to life, and kills him again, and then wins. Their relationship going forward, in WandaVision, is even trickier, because we don’t know what’s up yet, and at times they’re clearly not acting as “themselves”, defaulting to sitcom tropes and one-liners. Will Vision survive, and if he does, will their relationship? Who can say, but at least they’ll always have Edinburgh, deep-fried kebabs and all.

Batman & Andrea Beaumont (Kevin Conroy & Dana Delany, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, 1993): woah, Batman’s back but it’s a different Batman, say whaaaat. Animated Batman has had a few romances, from the great (Talia al-Ghul) to the disturbingly icky (Batgirl, ewwww), but his relationship with Andrea Beaumont is the best. Tweaking the Year One formula to give young Bruce a love interest that complicates his quest is a golden idea, and making her a part of the criminality and corruptiuon that he’s fighting is a suitably tragic part of the Batman origin story. Conroy and Delany give great performances, him wringing pathos out of Bruce, torn between heart and duty (“It just doesn’t hurt so bad anymore,” he wails to his parents’ grave, “I didn’t count on being happy”), her channelling golden age Hollywood glamour. The tragedy of them rekindling their relationship years later, only to wind up on different sides again, is – again – so very Batman. It’s a beautiful, earnest, very Batman relationship, a great titanic tragedy of human emotions and larger-than-life ideals. And they both look good in black.

Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy (Kaley Cuoco & Lake Bell, Harley Quinn, 2020): this one’s a little bit of a cheat, as I’ve only seen the first season of the show, where Harley and Ivy don’t even get together. But in the wider, non-canonical sense of these being characters who are part of the pop-cultural ether, Harley and Ivy will always be a couple, I feel; and there’s definitely enough in there already to see the affection between them, not yet consummated. They adore each other, are always there for each other, and as the season follows Harley getting out of her own way and acknowledging the abuse of her relationship with Joker – and finally getting over it in the healthiest way possible for a bleached-white manic pixie in roller derby gear. And all through this, holding her hand, is Ivy. They’re utterly made for each other, and I’m glad that they do get together in season two. I hope that Margot Robbie’s rendition of the character can likewise find happiness with a flesh-and-blood Ivy. Hell, just cast Lake Bell again. She’s great.

Just bubbling under – and I’m really gutted I couldn’t fit them in – was Spider-Man & M.J. from Spider-Man: Far From Home. Like Batman, I’m comfortable including multiple continuities here, and those cuties offer a different spin on a classic relationship.

[roach-the-horse]

Batgirl has so many great stories, but the story I am more interested in, is in her own...

So, with the news of Joss Whedon stepping down from direction and writing the ‘Batgirl’ movie, I was thinking that it is good that this movie wasn’t going to be all rushed out or end up with a mediocre story. She doesn’t deserve to be a casualty of the current state of the DC films. And I believe that this was the right decision for everyone involved. Let me explain…

Now, the Justice League looked like the knee-jerk response to Marvel’s The Avengers, but looking at the bigger picture, that was Marvel’s end game from the very beginning: interconnected films that reached a conclusion. 

With DC, is more about a world that has somehow forgotten its heroes and villains, and little by little they have reemerged due to the natural evolution of the world. Which begs the question: are they a product of the world they live in? Or is this world a product of the actions of women and men like them?

With Batgirl, we have the golden opportunity to see different sides of this universe and to do that, Barbara Gordon is the answer.

Barbara Gordon is a great character because of her evolution through the years. She has been a daughter, a sidekick, an ally and a fundamental piece of the so called Bat Family. 

Recently, more and more stories have been focusing on her life as an independent woman and crime fighter, dealing with maturity and the search for her own identity making her a modern cultural icon and role model, establishing the blueprint for how a female superhero should be treated. 

Barbara wearing the Bat symbol on her chest means more about her desire for justice and crime fighting rather than her wanting to be Batman. After all, Batman is a symbol and Barbara embraces everything that it represents. This self-awareness makes her stand out over the rest of the Bat Family who, in one way or another, the symbol still weighs heavily on all of them, but not Barbara.

She is an important character and that would be the main reason Warner Bros. went for Joss Whedon. His work in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a game changer at the time, since he gave us a heroine for a new generation, and perhaps this is why Joss decided to pass on this, since this new generation needs a different voice and one that understands it.

How would a Batgirl film look like today then?

If you ask me, the answer is a simple one but a little bit elaborated. The movie should be an auto biography of sorts: starting at a young age dealing with being Barbara Gordon, then teens and adulthood as Batgirl and ending with today’s DCEU version of Oracle. Almost like a day in the life of Barbara Gordon.

Barbara Gordon should be played by not one but three actresses.

This way it could cover most, if not all, aspects of what makes Batgirl such an important character in comic book lore. We need to see her struggles, her triumphs, her human side as well as her super hero persona.

Without further ado, here are my three choices to make one hell of a Barbara Gordon and the ultimate representation of the character.

Enjoy!

Barbara Gordon - Sophia Lillis

Wouldn’t be great to see Barbara Gordon forging her strong character and will from early age?

As a tomboy, daughter of a police officer in a city full of danger and weirdos but still feeling like an outcast. Knowing the Barbara Gordon as a blank slate and full of potential but not knowing where to go. Having a young Barbara Gordon as a vehicle for younger audiences to relate to.

In a time when bullying and low self-esteem spread like wild fire, having characters like Barbara Gordon are always welcome. Young audiences could have someone to look up to and say: “She is like me”

Sophia Lillis is an up-and-coming talent that has a curious presence similar to Jody Foster or Dakota Fanning. Known for portraying strong willed but naive characters, Sophia could provide that fresh and tough demeanor for a modern Barbara Gordon.

She was outstanding in the part of Beverly Marsh in the film It and, she was fearless in her portrayal of the character, sticking very close to the source material, dealing with issues of physical, mental and sexual abuse.

Batgirl - Jane Levy

This is the stage that defines Barbara Gordon.

The crime fighter, the independent woman trying to improve all aspects of her life, basically the modern woman. The struggles of fighting not only crime and injustice on the streets, but also the battle against the modern world that doesn’t care about her ideals.

Showing her as someone constantly fighting in and out of the cape and cowl would be a real treat. Showing her bad-ass alter ego but still dealing with insecurity and vulnerabilities

How many times we tell ourselves we are stronger than we appear, but deep inside we doubt ourselves?

Jane Levy is a certified bad-ass. With films like Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe, where she emerges as the last woman standing but had to go through literally hell to get to the other side.

The interesting part is that her characters experience lots of traumatic events throughout the events of the movie and it’s always implied at the end of the film that she will have to deal with the consequences sooner or later.

This could prove priceless in portraying Barbara Gordon since, after having her infamous run-in with the Joker, she ends up physically and mentally scarred leaving her dealing with massive PTSD.

This side of Barbara Gordon would be the key in this adaptation of the character. Someone as tough as Barbara, feeling more vulnerable than ever, is the worst feeling for a character such as her.

Oracle - Cassidy Freeman

Oracle is one of the most important characters not only in Batman lore, but in all DC.

And if it the pattern remains consistent within the DCEU movies, Oracle should be the version we should see after the events that will unfold during the Justice League. (I know there’s rumors of a reboot of the films, but let’s stick with Barbara, shall we?)

I won’t deny the controversy that Oracle has been part of throughout the years with arguments for and against her disability.

Some argue that Oracle gives a voice to people that feel different and seeing coping with the disadvantage could prove very empowering. Others argue that this diminish her true potential and victimizes her not only as a woman but as a person as a whole. Regardless of the argument, Barbara proves with this type of discussion that she is indeed a vital and relevant character that needs to be handle with respect.

The DCEU is already toying with the idea of introducing a Nightwing film as well, so it would be really interesting having all these characters already mature enough doing their own thing, explaining why Batman became the bitter and brutal vigilante we have seen so far with Ben Affleck’s portrayal of the Caped Crusader.

She could be our window on the why they all grew apart in the first place. Batman’s outlook seems to have been shifted to a new direction after meeting Superman and it would be really interesting to see the reaction of the rest of the Bat Family to these events, starting with Barbara Gordon.

Cassidy Freeman is an actress better known for her television roles, but most of these show how good she is as a tougher-than-nails type of woman.

As the aggressive and cold Sage in The Vampire Diaries, Cassidy shows how a very dark character can still feel and love. Or as the brutal but relentless Tess Mercer aka Lutessa Luthor in Smallville, who is not afraid of going toe-to-toe against someone like Clark or Lex. And finally, the closest we have a Barbara Gordon type of character in her portrayal of attorney Cady Longmire in the show Longmire. She plays as the only child of Sheriff Walt Longmire.

Oracle could provide us with a unique perspective into her growth as both woman and super hero, and she could guide us through all these stages of her life.

Batgirl has so many great stories, but the story I am more interested in, is her own, and I hope she can become a role model for a young generation that now more than ever, needs people to look up to. Real or fictional.

* I don’t own any of the pictures used in this post. They are all owned by DC Comics and movie studios*

[thegothamarchivescomics-blog]

The Killing Joke Overview

The Killing Joke is a one shot storyline exploring the origins of Batman and probably the most famous Batman/Joker book of all time. In fact, The Killing Joke is probably one of the most famous comics of all time. Known as a possible Joker origin story and for its dark themes, The Killing Joke explores the relationship between Batman and Joker and how they are mirror images to each other, along the way are some chilling scenes where Barbara Gordon famously gets shot and subsequently paralysed before she is sexually assaulted and has pictures taken to torture her father. The Killing Joke is a must read for anyone into comics and should be on the shelf of every Batman fan. Truly iconic.

Batman: The Killing Joke (Deluxe hardcover, which was reviewed) includes the full “Killing Joke” storyline as well as “An Innocent Guy” from Batman: Black & White. This edition has been coloured by Bolland himself and not John Higgins colours from the original.

The Killing Joke Key Information

Book Name The Killing Joke Book Series Limited Series One Shot Edition Reviewed Deluxe Edition Hardcover Year Published 2008 Originally Published 1988 Writer(s) Alan Moore, Artist(s) Brian Bolland Pages 64 Issues 2 Where to Buy Amazon Notable Heroes Batman Notable Villains Joker Chronology Previous The Nights of the Beast Chronology Next

Arkham Asylum

[amazon box=”1401216676″ title=”The Killing Joke Deluxe Edition”]

The Killing Joke Review

The Killing Joke has remained a prominent comic book classic for nearly 3 decades now. The 1988 installment by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland boasts one of the most notorious Joker comics of the entire series. Follow the Dark Knight on one of his darkest and most controversial stories yet. Critically acclaimed and incredibly brutal, this story has even won the praise of Tim Burton who comments; “I loved The Killing Joke… It’s my favorite. It’s the first comic I’ve ever loved.” This is a highly recommended read if you are ready for what’s in store for you.

To start out, I love this artwork. Both the characters and scenery are highly detailed and revised colours from Bolland is certainly an upgrade. Compared to other comics of its time, it has a LOT of work put into it and I am a huge fan. Even though the comic itself is rather old now, the artwork could not be farther from dated. And if you put this next to other comics from the era it is way ahead of its time. I especially love any and all scenes that include rain and shadows as I think Bolland did an exceptional job with bringing this story to light.

It opens right up to a rather famous scene in the Batman series. Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to sit down and confront the joker about their “relationship.” Namely, what does he think the endgame is here.

“I’ve been thinking lately. About you and me. About what’s going to happen to us in the end. We’re going to kill each other, aren’t we? Perhaps you’ll kill me. Perhaps I’ll kill you. Perhaps sooner. Perhaps later. I just wanted to know that I’d make the genuine attempt to talk things over and avert that outcome. Just once.”

Of course, his pleas fall of deaf ears and that someone had been sitting in for the Joker the whole time. With a start like this, you know things are going to be intense, it’s just a matter of how and when. Even Bruce Wayne could not have anticipated the horrors that were to come. That and that this opening implies foreshadowing and an explanation for why the Joker wants to destroy Batman so much.  This is implied as the comic progresses as well.

“How can two people hate so much without knowing each other?”

There are a lot of questions we were left asking ourselves in the beginning. All we know for sure at this point is that the Joker has bought himself a circus and has already claimed his first victim in a horrifying manner.

What I do really appreciate about this comic is that it does give some of the background to the joker piece by piece. While it doesn’t come outright and say it, the evidence is there and you are just left waiting to see when this awkward and sweet guy (with a pregnant girl no less) became the man he is today.

The plot’s real turning point is the one it is best known for. If you have not yet read the comic, I advise you to stop here to prevent yourself from getting any unwanted spoilers. I also advise you this is where things take a dark and personal turn, even for Batman comics as not many writers went this route before or even after.

The Joker shows right up to the Gordon’s residence, which at this point in the series hold two very important characters. James Gordon -from the Gotham City Police Department – and Barbara Gordon –Batgirl. Without even much of a fight at all, Joker shoots Barbara point blank in the stomach, right through the spine and rendering her paralyzed. What happened between her being undressed by Joker in the empty apartment and being found and brought to the hospital leave a lot of speculation to the readers. What was said was that he took inappropriate photos of her, but there are a lot of pointers that something even more sinister took place there, many people think she may have been raped while others think it stopped at photos. You could speculate all day about this, and at the end of the day it’s up to the reader to decide what happened.

This particular incident has been fought with some criticism over the last years. What happened? Should writers have done this? Was this going too far? People have had a lot to say about it, but if nothing else this certainly gets the message across that the Joker is a terrible human being and must be stopped.

If also leads you to further wonder what happened to the Joker back then? Flashbacks of a guy that would do anything for his family to this?

To top it all off, he has James Gordon captive.

Things become a lot more visually disturbing at this point -it does take place in a circus after all. I don’t even entirely know what to make of the small and creepy creatures that have to monitor Gordon. They are just small creatures reminiscent of those “horror baby dolls” you see every once in a while, wearing dresses and bondage outfits. They strip Gordon down until he is wearing nothing but a spiked collar and a leash (and I mean NOTHING) and parade him around the freak show that resides in the service. Joker sits atop a throne of naked baby dolls and rambles on about madness. I don’t think anyone could have come up with a worse nightmare inducing image than that.

The naked and very disturbed Gordon is forced into a dark ride where he is not only confronted with more images and videos of Joker -but the naked images of Barbara! This was very dark for a number of reasons. For one, that was his daughter and it was a dark scenario. We had been with James Gordon through so many installments and seen everything he had done for his daughter. This was torture. On top of it, this was Batgirl! Not some side character or installment-exclusive character, but the actual Batgirl! Although, in Batgirl New 52 Volume 1 and Volume 2 it does become apparent that Joker did not know the superhero connection at this point. This was torture to readers to see her like this! As he rides the train all the way through his nightmare we are forced to watch Batman pull every move to try to get the Joker’s location.

At least by this point, we are shown the reason why Joker hates the Batman, as in a very long and complicated scenario, Batman did ultimately knock him in the water. It is weird and rather metaphorical when you think about it like that. That Batman created the Joker, his worst enemy and ultimate rival and in some sense the Joker created the need for a Batman.

Once Batman arrives the ultimate battle ensues. The battle to end all battles in a way. This was the most action-packed scene in the book (considering a lot of the violence was rather one-sided up until this point). It has so much going on and everything creative and aggressive you would expect from a story such as this. I have to say this was also the most colorful part of the entire installment which says a lot about the significance from this scene.

At the end of this cut throat battle where it really could have gone either way, there was just so much you weren’t sure of. Why not just off another main character this time? It was an intense battle that ultimately and only slightly led with Batman’s victory. What I found most surprising was Batman’s lack of anger at this point. Like, it was severely underwhelming. With everything that -arguably the closest- people in his life had just gone through, he was still very level headed about it.  I guess that is just one of those things that makes Batman Batman, but still, I would have hoped for a little bit of cathartic aggression to go off at this point (if nothing else but to give me some vicarious relief).

Instead, he goes on just like the comic opened up with. Wanting to know how and why things turned out the way they did. Also wanted to make amends and not end up having to kill each other.

“It doesn’t have to end like that. I don’t know what is was that bent your life out of shape, but who knows? Maybe I’ve been there too. Maybe I can help.”

Again, reaching out as a friend is this very Batman style and I can understand that Joker snapped. I get that you have to give some villains with tragic background stories some leeway, but at the same time, that’s an awful big jump he’s making. For a vigilante that has devoted his life to revenge, I understand where he is all about stopping people from ending up in these situations and attempts to sympathize. Getting past what villains have done and rising above is kind of his thing. However, these atrocities were on a whole other level. On the other hand, this guy is completely driven by vengeance but believes that he will be there for Joker if he needs help because he can rise above everything that has happened in the past pages?

It ends with Joker’s depressing turn down and them both laughing hysterically as Batman has him in an aggressive grip -also laughing hysterically. A disturbing ending to and overall disturbing comic. Aside from the lack of emotion. I really wish that he would have found out what happened to make Joker go mad as well as the role he played in all of it. I know they do touch upon this later on in the next installments which I do appreciate.

Summary

Seriously, buy this book. This was an amazing comic and has to be seen to be believed. Don’t watch the latest film adaption first. An easy 5/5. This is a classic with a gripping tale and amazing artwork. Lacking a bit of action until the end, but that last scene more than makes up for it. Highly recommend this story to any and every comic book fan. It is easy to see why this is remembered as one of the greatest Joker tales of all time!

Once read you will never be able to forget it.

Batman: The Killing Joke Image Gallery

Batman: The Killing Joke Review The Killing Joke Overview The Killing Joke is a one shot storyline exploring the origins of Batman and probably the most famous Batman/Joker book of all time.